The most dramatic change expected under the new Chicago
school-reform legislation is the empowerment of parents over their
local schools.

Experts said last week that the state bill's blueprint for parental
control is unprecedented among contemporary urban school systems.

Within a year, some 3,500 parents will be elected to local school
councils that will shortly thereafter gain the power to hire and fire
principals, authorize school-improvement efforts, and allocate their
schools' budgets.

But the 124-page bill passed Dec. 1 mandates countless other changes
in the Chicago Public Schools that have been overshadowed by
speculation over the consequences of granting parents control over
schools.

Last week, as the range of Chicagoans who will be affected continued
to ponder the bill's implications, it was clear that some are far more
comfortable than others with the novel reorganization mandate.

Its supporters say it sets up a new system of urban school
governance designed to create an environment in which building-level
reform efforts are not only possible but required--with an ever-present
threat of sanctions goading the participants to positive action.

The measure "does not merely shift power around to different
groups," said Donald R. Moore, executive director of Designs for
Change, a research and advocacy group that played a key role in
developing and lobbying for the reform package.

"It was very carefully designed to create incentives for improving
kids' learning experiences," he said.

'Many Flaws'

That assessment is not shared by some leading Chicagoans, including
the mayor.

Most of the criticism centers on the fact that the bill provides no
new money for the Chicago district. But a number of school and
community leaders also decry the drastically reduced authority that the
central board will exercise under the plan.

One community activist, noting that some of the dissent was
predictable, commented that "nobody willingly gives up power, do
they?"

Mayor Eugene Sawyer is "not happy" with the bill, according to his
press secretary, Monroe Anderson.

"He says that the school superintendent, while being held
accountable for the performance of the school system, is not given
authority to make sure that it performs well," Mr. Anderson said.

"The Mayor just doesn't believe it will work," he added.

"The central board's power has been diluted" under the reform plan,
concurred Frank Gardner, president of the Chicago Board of Education,
"but the School Finance Authority still holds the central board
responsible" for the operation of the district.

While saying that the bill has "many flaws," Mr. Gardner added that
"we're going to do everything we can to bring about successful
implementation of the program."

The Chicago Principals Associ4ation is considering filing a lawsuit
to challenge the elimination of tenure for principals that is called
for under the plan, according to Bruce Berndt, the association's
president.

"Our understanding is that in four or five states, the courts have
determined that tenure is a property right that cannot be taken away
without due process," he said, adding that his organization would
probably ask the Illinois courts to make the same determination.

While the reform bill "will allow principals to become heavily
involved in school-based management," Mr. Berndt added, "some
principals are concerned that it will open the door to the same kinds
of abuses we saw in Detroit and New York, where community control has
led to the unreasonable use of power."

(Last week, New York City Schools Chancellor Richard R. Green
ordered the dismissal of a community-district superintendent and one of
the district's board members in light of charges that they misused
school funds. The chancellor last month suspended members of another
local board who allegedly used and distributed drugs and extorted
political contributions from school employees.)

Activists 'Wrote the Bill'

But reaction to the new Chicago plan from many other community
members has been strongly positive, as they celebrate the successful
end of more than a year--and for some, several years--of sustained
campaigning for school reform.

"I think it's the most important piece of school-reform legislation
passed in the past 50 years in this country," said Michael Bakalis,
dean of the school of education at Loyola University and co-chairman of
Chicagoans United to Reform Education.

"The great success of this thing is that if you ask a thousand
people who's responsible [for the provisions of the bill], you'll
probably get a thousand different answers," he said.

"That's good," he added, "because everybody believes that their role
was key. Now if they don't do anything about improving the schools,
they have only themselves to blame."

John J. Cullerton, a state representative from Chicago, said the
typical political process--in which special-interest groups write
legislation that protects their turf--was "just turned upside
down."

"In this case, the special interests are the unions and the board,
but we let the community activists write the bill," he said. "The
people who wrote it don't have an economic stake in its outcome."

No New Money

Even some of the bill's strongest supporters, however, are critical
of the fact that it provides no new money for educational
improvements.

"The bill focuses on management rather than on educational
content,'' said the Rev. Kenneth B. Smith, president of Chicago
Theological Seminary and co-chairman of Mayor Harold Washington's
education summit. The late Mayor asked the 50-member summit to develop
a consensus blueprint for reforming the city's schools in the wake of
last year's four-week teachers' strike.

The bill contains many of the summit's proposals for reform, he
said, but "the summit's plan also dealt with educational aspects that
would have cost money."

Other Elements of Measure

Besides shifting much of the control over schools to site-based
governing councils, the reform plan will:

Require the board to begin phasing in a parental-choice plan by
1991.

Dissolve the current 11-member board of education and create a
representative body to forward nominations for a new 15-member board to
the mayor, who must make his choices from their list.

Mandate that the central board's administrative budget be reduced by
an estimated $40 million per year, or about 20 percent of current
administrative costs.

Require that federal Chapter 1 and state Title 1 aid be gradually
targeted to schools with the highest concentrations of low-income
students, and that it be spent on programs that supplement, rather than
supplant, the regular educational program.

Prohibit the board from eliminating teaching jobs after the 20th day
of the school year, a provision designed to create continuity in
children's classroom experiences by ensuring that their teacher will
not be bumped by a more senior teacher in midyear.

'Governing Power' for Teachers

Some experts say that one of the most overlooked aspects of the plan
is the new powers that will be granted to teachers.

Teachers will hold 2 of the 11 seats on each of the new Local School
Councils, and will also form their own Professional Personnel Advisory
Councils in each school that will make recommendations on such issues
as curriculum, staff development, and teaching methodology.

The bill gives teachers "more actual governing power than I think
has been granted to any teachers in the country," said Mr. Bakalis.
"They will have real, legal authority in terms of operating the
schools."

The Chicago Teachers Union is less enthusiastic about the bill,
although a spokesman said "it could very well provide us with an
opportunity for a greater voice."

"It remains to be seen whether some people will let that happen,"
said Chuck Burdeen, the spokesman.

"Teachers are very cautious about throwing themselves into the plan,
because they've heard a lot of rhetoric in the past without seeing much
action," he added.

Union leaders feel they gained new protections for members without
giving too much away, he said, but the overall plan "falls short of
what we know is absolutely necessary."

Structure Has Checks, Balances

While the centerpiece of the new reform law is the creation of local
school councils, they are only one part of the governance structure
that the district will be required to create.

Procedures for electing parents and community members to the
councils will be set by the interim seven-member board that will be
named to oversee operation of the district by Aug. 1, 1989.

After the school councils are elected, they will in turn elect one
representative to a subdistrict coordinating council. These councils
will oversee implementation of the reforms in areas corresponding to
the 20 elementary and 3 high-school districts in the system's present
adel10lministrative structure.

The subdistrict units will have funding available to hire one
coordinator, or superintendent, and any other staff that the central
board or school councils provide money for.

They will have the authority to take an array of actions against
schools that do not demonstrate improved student performance, including
requiring them to develop a new school-improvement plan.

A subdistrict council may also vote to put a school on probation, at
which point the central board must develop a plan for improving the
school.

Schools that fail to demonstrate sufficient improvement after one
year on probation may be ordered to hold new elections for a local
school council, may have their principal or faculty replaced, or may
even be closed.

Actions by a local council that violate state or federal laws or
court orders would be grounds for immediate intervention by the central
board.

The structure of the local school8councils provides safeguards
against abuses of power, supporters say.

Council actions must be approved by a majority of all members, not
just a majority of those present.

And the selection of a principal requires seven affirmative votes.
If a council fails to agree on a principal candidate, it must submit a
list of names to the subdistrict superintendent, who will make the
choice.

Similarly, if a subdistrict council is unable to agree on a
subdistrict superintendent, the district's general superintendent will
make the choice.

The Chicago School Finance Authority, a body created to oversee the
district's budget process after its brush with bankruptcy in the late
1970's, has been granted the authority to oversee implementation of the
reforms at all levels of the system.

The finance authority will hold the power to discipline, suspend, or
remove any board member, school employee, or their agents, that it
judges to be obstructing the reform process.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.